It might be a bit strange, I admit, to consult chaos theory, the study of systems that exhibit apparent randomness, in an attempt to make sense of time periods in the Bible. After all, it is common for Christians to say that the Lord is a God of order, not chaos, that He is “orderly.” Why would an orderly God create a chaotic universe? Part of the answer is that, in scientific terms, “chaotic” means unpredictable more than it means disorderly. But I will get to that. For now, I merely state my hypotheses: the universe was in a chaotic state some time period before the separation of light from darkness, returned to chaos with the rebellion of Adam and Eve, and will come into everlasting orderliness at the fall of Satan and the destruction of death. You could be laughing, you could be appalled, but to me these are exciting hypotheses! And even if they don’t hold water, I believe that we can still learn a few things about God, and about chaos theory, from a healthy consideration of these ideas.
To be sure that there is no misunderstanding, I want to make clear from the outset that, in relation to chaos theory, the word “chaos” was not used in a derogatory way. Science does not judge circumstances or systems that exhibit chaotic behavior. Rather, chaos theory, and how it applies to so many aspects of our lives and the sciences, has offered a way of thinking positively about unpredictability, because having new insight is exciting!
A “chaotic system” is the term used in the sciences to refer to a system that is extremely sensitive to its initial conditions, so sensitive that only a tiny detail in how it is now can result in a vastly different state later on. One can also look backwards in time rather than forwards, and find that it is impossible to figure out what a chaotic system was like in the past based only upon knowing what it is like in the present.
When I was in college back in the 1980’s, one of my physics professors talked about a scientist who would listen to water drops coming out of a leaky faucet, trying to identify a pattern to the timing of the drips. Some scientists around him, I was told, thought he was too obsessive — laughing at him, perhaps. But even something that seems like a colossal waste of time can end up bringing about a new way of approaching things mathematically. And that’s what happened! Robert Shaw observed experimentally what O.E. Rossler had theorized: a dripping faucet is an example of how a simple system can behave chaotically. Shaw played a role in the development of chaos theory.
Here’s a way to stop laughing at meteorologists: think of the fact that they are trying to predict for you something that is pretty much impossible to predict. Weather is a prime example of chaos. One tiny difference in how the weather is today can greatly affect what the weather is like tomorrow. Considering that meteorologists can’t possible know everything there is to know about today’s weather, we really shouldn’t laugh at them or hold it against them when it snows tomorrow even though the weather report called for sunshine with 0% chance of snow.
In Part 2, I will proceed at “proving” the first of my hypotheses which, by the rules of the chaos theory, might be very hard to prove! But there will be good news!
